Firefighters union says water used to fight Morwell fire is unsafe

PETER LLOYD: The pollution emergency in Morwell in eastern Victoria is not over yet.

Hopes that the lingering fire in the Hazelwood coal mine would have been extinguished by the weekend have now been dashed.

At the same time the fire-fighters union has raised a new concern. It says the water being used to fight the fire is unsafe.

Alison Caldwell reports.

ALISON CALDWELL: The fire in the open cut coal mine in Morwell has been burning for close to four weeks now, blanketing the city of 14,000 people in thick black smoke.

The coal mine sits alongside the Hazelwood power station which provides Victoria with 25 per cent of its electricity.

Police believe grasslands nearby were set alight by an arsonist.

Chief Commissioner Ken Lay says they've received a lot of information from the public which is assisting them with their investigations.

In the meantime, he says he has serious concerns about the level of security around the coal mine.

KEN LAY: The mines, the electricity industry have a very strong security overlay in response to our counter-terrorism plan across the state. We need to revisit that plan now. We need to revisit the security of the entire power industry to make sure that it's as secure as it possibly can be, because we've seen in the last few months or the last month or so that fire is a significant risk to our power supplies.

ALISON CALDWELL: Internationally concerns have been raised about the possibility of terrorist groups targeting key infrastructure, including electricity stations and nuclear power plants.

Ken Lay says he will consult experts widely.

KEN LAY: We'll revisit those plans; we'll talk to people right across the world about what the best security overlays are. We need to make sure that we've taken every stop possible to ensure that electricity supply remains.

ALISON CALDWELL: Meanwhile concerns have been raised about the quality of the water being used to fight the fire inside one section of the mine.

One fire-fighter had a small cut turn septic, causing major swelling of his hand and arm. He needed surgery and required 22 stitches in his hand.

The United Fire-fighters Union paid $9,000 for independent testing of the water.

Spokesman Mick Tisbury has told ABC Local Radio in Melbourne the results are worrying.

MICK TISBURY: Quite frankly the results are horrific. They show extreme levels of e-coli, extreme levels of chloroforms and extreme levels of a bacteria called pseudomonas aeruginosa. One of the side effects is you could have a small nick on your body, a small cut and this micro-organism is very opportunistic and it will get in there and cause things like septicaemia.

CRAIG LAPSLEY: That's under investigation. We've used South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service, their senior officer come and review that for us. I've engaged independent audits myself from day one, so I've had an independent OH and S (Occupational Health and Safety) auditor reporting to me about the processes and systems. What it tells you is that we have a very interesting environment that is changing daily.

ALISON CALDWELL: The authorities say they've made significant progress fighting the fire and hope to have a positive announcement about its status early next week.